Cleaning machine

ABSTRACT

A machine designed to clean mats, rugs and the like by means of a high powered liquid spray impinging upon the mats as they are conveyed through the machine. An endless driven belt engages the upper surface of the mat and carries it through the machine, over grates through which the spray is directed. A pair of driven, spring-loaded rollers are positioned at the entrance and exit to the machine such that the first pair of rollers pulls the mat into the machine and the second pair of rollers forces the mat out the exit of the machine while simultaneously squeezing the excess water from the mat. Access to the interior of the machine is accomplished by a top which may be lifted from the tank of the machine by means of a lever and cam arrangement.

O llntted States Patent 11 1 1111 3,779,367 Hope et a1. Dec. 18, 1973CLEANING MACHINE Primary ExaminerEdward A. Sroka [75] Inventors: RichardP. Hope, Odessa; Henry B. 4tt0mey stefan Stem Long, Tampa, both of Fla.[73] Assignee: Auto-Mat Corporation, Tampa, Fla. [57] ABSTRACT A machinedesigned to clean mats, rugs and the like [22] Ffled 1970 by means of ahigh powered liquid spray impinging [21] Appl. No.: 87,994 upon the matsas they are conveyed through the machine. An endless driven belt engagesthe upper sur- 52 11.s.c1. 198/167, 134/125 face the mat and i l the [511 1m Cl B65 15/14 over grates through which the spray ls dlrected. Apa1r g of driven, spring-loaded rollers are positioned at the [58] Fieldof Search 198/165, 167, 204, entrance and exit to the machine such thatthe first pair of rollers pulls the mat into the machine and the 56]References Cited second pair of rollers forces the mat out the exit ofthe machine while simultaneously squeezing the excess UNITED STATESPATENTS water from the mat. Access to the interior of the ma- 3,237,2313/1966 Zink 15/102 chine is accomplished by a top which may be lifted117501675 3930 y---- 312/319 X from the tank of the machine by means ofa lever and 555,481 2/1896 Grimmett 198/165 cam arrangement 2,325,2007/1943 Young 198/165 X 6 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEBUEC 1 8 ma 3.779.36 7! INVENTORS RICHARD P. HOPE HENRY B. LONG BY 5 zgz g ATTORNEY.

CLEANING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the InventionThis invention relates to a washing machine for cleaning vinyl backmats, rugs or the like through the use of a high-powered liquid sprayimpinging upon the mats as they are conveyed through the machine.

2. Description of the Prior Art A number of machines are presently onthe market which are primarily designed for the washing or cleaning ofmats, rugs and the like. These machines generally comprise means toconvey the mats through the machine past a point where the actualcleaning takes place. Cleaning usually occurs by providing a scrubbingaction to the rug surface by means of a plurality of brushes or bydirecting a high-powered spray of liquid onto the rug.

In utilizing both of these methods, conventional rug cleaning machinesencounter the problem of hang up of the rug as it passes through themachine. Hang up is generally considered a more common occurrance whenthe rugs are being cleaned by a scrubbing action, however, hang up alsofrequently occurs with conventional spray type cleaning machines. Hangup occurs when the rug becomes folded back upon itself and entangled inthe interior of the machine. In the cleaning industry, this is a commonoccurrance in that the mats are generally flexible. This flexibility isthe primary cause of hang-up and when it does occur it is oftennecessary to destroy the rug. This is true in conventional machinebecause the only way to unclog the workings of these machines is to cutthe rug free. This of course results in great expense to the cleaningindustry and the operators of these machines due to downtime of themachine while the rug is being cut free. Additional expense obviouslyincurred due to the replacement cost of the rug when it is destroyed.

This problem of hang up is most prevelent when cleaning rubber back orsimilar vinyl back mats. None of the presently known machines which aredesigned to clean this type of mat have solved the hang up problem whileat the same time providing an efficient, rapid and inexpensive means ofcleaning.

In an attempt to overcome the hang up problem, while maintaining anefficient cleaning operation, a number of the conventional machines havebeen designed with elaborate conveyor systems which are intended toconvey the mat through the machine in such a manner as to prevent hangup. These machines are of course much more expensive due to the addedcomplexity which results in added costs to the customer having his matscleaned. These more complex machines are usually more subject tobreakdown thereby providing additional maintenance problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a machine forcleaning rugs and particularly vinyl back mats in a manner which willeliminate the problem of hang up. The machine comprises a tank having atop mounted thereon. The top is pivotally connected to the tank so thatthe tank interior is readily accessible upon lifting the top from thetank. This specific structural feature eliminates the primarydisadvantage when hang up occurs in a rug cleaning machine. Namely,*uponthe occurrence of hang up,-the rug then in-the machine is easily removedwithout its destruction by merely separating the top from the tank.Separation may be accomplished manually through the operation of a leverand cam arrangement. The cam is fixedly attached to the lever androtatably mounted on the tank. The cam is positioned in cooperativerelation to a cam rider which is mounted on the top. Rotation of the camby move ment of the lever causes the cam to movably engage the cam riderthereby forcing the top to separate from the tank.

The rug or mat is transported through the machine by a conveyor meanscomprising an endless belt movably mounted within the top of themachine. The belt is supported therein by a plurality of belt supportrollers arranged in spaced relation to one another and also rotatablymounted within the top of the machine. The two rollers located at eachend of the endless belt may be spring mounted to supply proper amountsof pressure to mats or rugs entering and leaving the machine.

The conveyor means further comprises a plurality of conveyor rollersrotatably mounted in the tank of the machine. A plurality of endlessstrip belts are mounted about the last two of these conveyor rollers.The conveyor rollers and cooperating strip belts are arranged in opposedrelation to the endless belt so as to define the path of travel of a mattraveling through the machine between the top and tank of the machine.The conveyor rollers are interconnected to one another by means ofaplurality of chains connected to cooperating sprockets mounted on theextremities of each of the rollers. An electric motor or like powersource serves to drive each of the conveyor rollers through the chainsand sprocket arrangement. The endless belt comprises two intermeshingspur gears which are connected to at least one conveyor roller and atleast correspondingly positioned belt support roller respectively.Driving of this conveyor roller causes the associated belt supportroller to also be driven, thereby causing the endless conveyor belt torotate.

At least one grate is positioned between successive pairs of conveyorrollers. The grate or grates positioned between the last two conveyorrollers are arranged on the interior of the strip belts such that thebelts travel around these grates. These grates are mounted in the tankand positioned to support the rug or mat as it is transported throughthe machine by the endless belt, conveyor rollers and the plurality ofstrip belts supported on the last of these conveyor rollers. At leastone of the grates has an elongated slot which extends across the widthof the path of travel of the mat as it passes through the machine. Thisslot is aligned with a spray pipe located in the tank beneath thegrates. A plurality of nozzles are arranged on the spray pipe so as todirect a plurality of jets of liquid through the slot and onto the mats.The jets of liquid provide the cleaning action for the mat as it istransported through the machine.

The last of the conveyor rollers and the last belt support roller aremounted in cooperating relation so as to squeeze excess water from themat or rug as it passes from the machine. Proper drainage means is alsoar ranged within the tank and serves-t0. remove only ex cess waterremaining in the tank.

The machine of this invention, having the structural features outlinedabove, provides anefficient means of cleaning rugs and especially rubberor vinyl back mats in a manner which eliminates the problems encounteredbecause of hang up. Through the use of this machine, hang up is greatlyreduced primarily because of the manner in which the mat is conveyedthrough the machine. However, when hang up does occur the rug may bequickly and easily removed from the machine, without cutting the rug orotherwise destroying it. Removal of the rug is accomplished by merelyrotating the lever and connected cam into moving engagement with the camrider thereby forcing the top portion to separate from the tank of themachine. As explained above, this provides ready access to the interiorof the machine and accordingly any rug being cleaned therein.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction,combination of elements, and arrangements of parts which willbeexemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scopeof the invention will be indicated in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a fuller understanding of thenature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to thefollowing detailed description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top cutaway view of the cleaning machine of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the cleaning machine.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing the top section of the cleaningmachine in closed position relative to the tank.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the cleaning machine showing the topsection in an opened or separated position relative to the tank.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIGS. 1 and 2 show a cutaway top view and a sideview respectively of the cleaning machine generally indicated as 10. Themachine comprises a tank 12 and a top 14. The top is pivotally attachedto tank 14 by means of a pair of hinges 16 and 18. A mat or rug 20indicated in dotted lines is designed to pass through the machinebetween tank 12 and top 14 as shown by directional arrows 21 and 22.

The mat 20 is transported through the machine by a conveyor meanscomprising an endless belt 24. The belt 24 is movably mounted within topsection 14 by means of a plurality of belt support rollers 26, 28 and30. Each of these support rollers are rotatably mounted within topsection 14 and serve to support the belt in engagement with a mat 20 asit passes through the machine. A plurality of bearing housings 32, 34and 36 serve to rotatably mount the support rollers 26, 28 andrespectively in top section 14. Each of these bearing housings arespring loaded by means of coil springs 38, 40 and 42 attached tohousings 32, 34 and 36 respectively. This spring loading has the effectof putting the desired pressure on the mat as it passes through themachine. This pressure is important for the proper entrance of the matinto the machine to thereby reduce the probability of hang up of the matoccurring in the machine. It is also important to have the proper amountof pressure as the mat exits the machine as at 41 so that any excesswater and detergent will be squeezed from the mat. The pressure exertedon the mat as it exits the machine is also necessary to maintain theproper tension on the mat as it travels through the machine therebytending to reduce the occurrence of hang up. A tensioning bar 43 is alsoprovided and adjustably connected to the top portion 12. Bar 43 engagesbelt 24 and thereby maintains proper tension on belt 24 during itsoperation.

The conveyor means further comprises a plurality of conveyor rollersrotatably mounted in the tank portion 12 of the machine. The conveyorrollers 44, 46 and 48 are arranged in opposed relation to the belt 24 soas to define the path of travel of the mat between tank 12 and top 14.This path is further defined by a plurality of endless conveyor stripbelts 45 and 47 mounted about the last two conveyor rollers 46 and 48,and driven thereby. These strip belts each have a much thinner widththan endless belt 24, and are an important feature preventing hang up.Power to drive the conveyor roll is supplied from a driving meanscomprising a motor 50 which may be a standard electric motor. The powertake off of the motor is connected by means of chain 52 to a mainsprocket gear 54 which in turn is attached to conveyor roller 44.Endless chain 56 interconnects conveyor rollers 44 and 46 by means ofsprocket gears 58 and 60 connected thereto respectively. Similarly,conveyor rollers 46 and 48 are interconnected by chain 62 betweensprocket gears 64 and 66 attached to rollers 46 and 48 respectively.Conse quently, it can be seen that each of the conveyor rollers 44, 46and 48 are driven by motor 50. The conveyor belt 24 is driven by meansof spur gear 68 connected to roller 30. Gear 68 is positioned to engagea second spur gear 70 which is attached to correspondingly locatedconveyor roller 48. In that conveyor roller 48 is interconnected indriven relation to the remaining conveyor rollers 44 and 46, supportroller 30 is thereby driven due to the intermeshing of driven anddriving gears 68 and 70 respectively.

As shown in FIG. 1 grates 72 and 74 are placed between each of theconveyor rollers 44, 46 and 48 respectively. These grates are sopositioned to allow the mat 20 to travel thereover by the cooperativerotational movement of belt 24 and each of the conveyor rollers alongwith belts 45 and 47. Grate 72 has provided therein a longitudinallyextending slot 76 positioned in the approximate center of the grate andextending across the entire width of the path of travel of mat 20.

Cleaning action of the mat 20 occurs by means of a plurality of sprayjets of liquid issuing from spray pipe 78. The jets are formed by aplurality of knife nozzles 80 communicating with the interior of spraypipe 78. Each of the knife nozzles are aligned with slot 76 so as todirect the jet onto a mat 20 through the slot without breaking up thejet and thereby providing a more efficient cleaning action.

Drainage of water and detergent from tank 12 occurs by means of aV-shaped base 82 formed within tank 12 (FIGS. 3 & 4). At the bottom ofthis base is located a drainage pipe 83 through which excess liquidexits tank 12.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show means to separate top section 14 from tank 12 andthereby provide ready access to the interior of the machine. The topsection 14 is lifted and pivoted about the hinges 16 and 18 by means ofa raising means comprising at least one cam means 84 rotatably mountedon tank 12 and fixedly attached to lever 86. A cam rider 88 is fixedlyattached to the top portion 14 and positioned to cooperatively engagecam 84 when lever 86 is rotated. As the cam 84 movably engages rider 88the top section 14 moves relative to tank 12 as it pivots around hinges16 and 18 as shown by directional arrow 90. For simplicity of operationin providing quick and ready access to the interior of the machine, topsection 14 is light enough to allow lever 86 to be manually operated. Asstated above a mat or rug in which hang up has occurred can thereby beeasily removed from the interior of the machine without it being cut ordestroyed.

It will thus be seen that the objects made apparent from the precedingdescription are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may bemade in the above construction without departing from the scope of theinvention, it is intended that all matter contained in the abovedescription or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpretedas illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended tocover all of the generic and specific features of the invention hereindescribed, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as amatter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Now that the invention has been described,

What is claimed is:

1. A cleaning machine of the type designed to clean mats, said machinecomprising: a tank, a top movably connected to said tank, conveyor meansarranged to convey said mat through said machine and comprising anendless belt movably mounted within said top, a plurality of conveyorrollers mounted in said tank in opposed working relation to said belt,at least one strip belt mounted within said tank on at least two of saidconveyor rollers, whereby said endless belt, said conveyor rollers andsaid strip belt at least partially define a path of travel of the matthrough said machine; driving means disposed on said machine to drivesaid conveyor means, raising means connected to said tank and arrangedrelative to both said tank and said top and comprising a cam rotatablymounted on said tank, a cam rider attached to said top, said cam andsaid rider arranged in cooperative relation such that rotation of saidcam causes separation of said belt from said plurality of conveyorrollers, whereby the interior of said machine is accessable uponseparation of said top from said tank.

2. A cleaning machine as in claim 1 wherein said endless belt is mountedin said top of said machine, said plurality of conveyor rollers mountedin successive spaced relation to one another on said tank, said endlessbelt and said plurality of conveyor rollers and cooperating strip beltare arranged in opposed working relation to one another so as to definethe path of travel of the mat between said top and said tank.

3. A cleaning machine as in claim 1 wherein said belt is mounted withinsaid machine by means of a plurality of endless belt support rollersarranged in supporting engagement to said endless belt, at least one ofsaid endless belt support rollers arranged in driven engagement withsaid driving means, whereby said endless belt travels about said supportrollers.

4. A cleaning machine as in claim 3 wherein each of said conveyorrollers is connected in driven relation to said driving means; at leastone of said driven conveyor rollers connected to at least one of saidsupport rollers in driving relation such that said endless belt and saidconveyor rollers are simultaneously driven upon activation of saiddriving means.

5. A cleaning machine as in claim 3 wherein each of said conveyorrollers is connected in driven relation to said driving means; a firstgear means attached to at least one of said support rollers, said firstgear means arranged relative to said second gear means such that saidsecond gear means is driven by said first gear means upon activation ofsaid driving means, whereby said belt and said conveyor rollers rotate.

6. A cleaning machine as in claim ll further comprising grate meansmounted within said tank between two of said conveyor rollers, andarranged in supporting relation to said mat as it travels through saidmachine.

1. A cleaning machine of the type designed to clean mats, said machine comprising: a tank, a top movably connected to said tank, conveyor means arranged to convey said mat through said machine and comprising an endless belt movably mounted within said top, a plurality of conveyor rollers mounted in said tank in opposed working relation to said belt, at least one strip belt mounted within said tank on at least two of said conveyor rollers, whereby said endless belt, said conveyor rollers and said strip belt at least partially define a path of travel of the mat through said machine; driving means disposed on said machine to drive said conveyor means, raising means connected to said tank and arranged relative to both said tank and said top and comprising a cam rotatably mounted on said tank, a cam rider attached to said top, said cam and said rider arranged in cooperative relation such that rotation of said cam causes separation of said belt from said plurality of conveyor rollers, whereby the interior of said machine is accessable upon separation of said top from said tank.
 2. A cleaning machine as in claim 1 wherein said endless belt is mounted in said top of said machine, said plurality of conveyor rollers mounted in successive spaced relation to one another on said tank, said endless belt and said plurality of conveyor rollers and cooperating strip belt are arranged in opposed working relation to one another so as to define the path of travel of the mat between said top and said tank.
 3. A cleaning machine as in claim 1 wherein said belt is mounted within said machine by means of a plurality of endless belt support rollers arranged in supporting engagement to said endless belt, at least one of said endless belt support rollers arranged in driven engagement with said driving means, whereby said endless belt travels about said support rollers.
 4. A cleaning machine as in claim 3 wherein each of said conveyor rollers is connected in driven relation to said driving means; at least one of said driven conveyor rollers connected to at least one of said support rollers in driving relation such that said endless belt and said conveyor rollers are simultaneously driven upon activation of said driving means.
 5. A cleaning machine as in claim 3 wherein each of said conveyor rollers is connected in driven relation to said driving means; a first gear means attached to at least one of said support rollers, said first gear means arranged relative to said second gear means such that said second gear means is driven by said first gear means upon activation of said driving means, whereby said belt and said conveyor rollers rotate.
 6. A cleaning machine as in claim 1 further comprising grate means mounted within said tank between two of said conveyor rollers, and arranged in supporting relation to said mat as it travels through said machine. 